MARCH Conferences

2nd International Conference in Berlin

The MARCH Comenius Network organised its second International Education Conference on "Making Science Attractive in Schools" on 5th November 2015, at the Podewil in Berlin, Germany.

The conference brought together 150 participants, which included students, teachers, scientists, policymakers, educational experts, other stakeholders from Germany and the six partner countries. The interactive event formats allowed very lively discussions, highlighting the different perspectives both from the different countries and from different roles within the educational system.

After a very enlightening keynote speech by Professor Elena Rodrigues-Falcon from the University of Sheffield, UK, on "STEM WHAT? The Misconceptions Of Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths", participants interactively discussed the topics "European STEM Initiatives", "Innovative STEM Teaching at School", "Out-of-school STEM Projects", "Projects on the Topic of Sustainable Cities", “STEM Competitions", and "Girls in STEM" with experts at roundtables.

Students got the chance to present their visions on good STEM education, and in the two panel discussions, a) teachers from Serbia, Portugal, Germany and Lithuania, and b) members of the MARCH consortium from the UK, Bulgaria and Greece, shared their insights on the status quo, the challenges, and aims of STEM education in Europe.

In the live on-stage interviews, STEM stakeholders from the three different perspectives of science, politics and economy expressed their views and vision. FameLab live acts from Germany and Bulgaria on current science topics framed the event.

For more detailed information, including the programme, list of participants, objectives, topics discussed, outcomes, feedback and evaluation, dissemination and coverage, you can download the report (pdf). The official invitation and programme can be found here (in pdf).

MARCH (MAking science Real in SCHools) project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.